Lunatic Fringe - Smithville Lake, Missouri

Round 9 of the Midwest Fat Tire Series was another hot and humid affair. the trail system at Smithville Lake is super twisty but fast and fairly smooth. I got the holeshot and used my technical prowess to slowly get a gap. Riding efficiently was the key here. I came through lap 1 with a descent lead so I eased up a bit, anticipating have to do a 3rd lap. Fortunately my 2nd lap time was still quick but not fast enough to come in under the 90 minutes, so that second lap was it. I know have a good lead in the Series for both the Vet Expert class and for the Overall Sport/Expert combined. That being the case, I will hang the mtb up and start my Cyclocross preparation.

Tall Oak Challenge - Jefferson City, Missouri

Round 8 of the Midwest Fat Tire Series kicked off in very hot and humid conditions. Fortunately most of the course is in the trees and some scattered clouds cept the heat-lamp effect to a minumum. I got into the single track in 2nd right behind Tim "TK" Kakouris. He's fast so he sure wasn't holding me up. He is super "quick" out of tight turns so it was important to stay close but not try to match his accelerations, rather just come back to his wheel gradually. I was feeling good so I went by him after a mile or 2 and tried to work a small gap but he stayed close and we came through after lap 1 more or less together. I started to feel the heat and he climbed by me about half way around lap 2. He got a good gap right away and I had to put it into conservation mode. I finished lap 3 just under the 90 minute cut-off so I had a 4th lap to "cool down" on since none of the other Vet's would make the time cut-off.

Ivan Basso at ' 06 Giro

You'll most-likely never see this again. Basso just won stage 8 of the ' 06 Giro and well on his way to winning the GC. I had the pleasure of witnessing this in person at last years race where I was camped out at the finish line. Couldn't get over there for this years race but I will be going in September for 2 weeks or R&R. Actually it will be 1 week of rest in Tuscany following by 1 week of 15km climbs down by my house.

Heartland Series all Wrapped up (and rained out)

The 4-race Heartland MTB Series finally came to a close but not the way organizers had intended. The first 2 rounds were postponed due to bad weather. The final round scheduled for this past Sunday (the first round's rescheduled date) was cancelled, again due to plenty of rain. I had the 30-39 Expert series already wrapped up so nothing really changed. Teammate Josh Taylor took 2nd in the series. Ciao

13 Weeks Till 'Cross Season

Now that's it's in the 90's, so humid you need gills to breath, and the ticks are eating me alive, the official count down to 'cross seaon has started. already getting the bikes dialed in, tire selection, ect. Looking forward to another season in the Elites. I had a fairly successful season last year and should be able to raise a few more eyebrows this time around. My MTB will get hung up August 23rd and the 'cross specific stuff will begin that will focus my body and mind towards that magic 60 minutes of 'cross hell. Ciao